The 2022 Grammys have been placed on hold. The Recording Academy and CBS have announced that the music award show will be postponed from its originally scheduled airdate on Jan. 31, 2022.
Officials said in a statement on Wednesday that a new date for the event “will be announced soon.”
The announcement comes as the global COVID-19 omicron variant outbreak continues. On Monday, the United States recorded more than 1 million new COVID-19 cases, a daily high for any country since the pandemic began.
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This is the second year in a row the award show has been put off. The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted last year’s event, but its rescheduled date was one of the earliest returns to an in-person format.
The academy’s statement read, “After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community, and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show.”
“The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remain our top priority.
“Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”
Earlier this week, sources revealed that the Recording Academy was looking for a new venue to host the telecast, following reports that it would be postponed.
“They’re having difficulty finding a venue, and they’re looking at the Hollywood Bowl because it’s outside,” a source said.
The show was originally scheduled to air live from the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) in Los Angeles on January 31, but Billboard magazine reported on Monday that it will most likely be postponed due to the pandemic.
The award show also made a last-minute rule change that was not announced until moments before the nominees were revealed, increasing the number of nominees in the Big 4 categories (Album, Record, and Song of the Year, as well as Best New Artist) from eight to ten.
Many of this year’s award shows have been thrown off by the variant. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced on Tuesday that the 2022 Golden Globes, which are scheduled to take place on Sunday, January 9, will take place without a red carpet, audience, celebrities, or press.
In the same week that the Grammys were rescheduled, the Sundance Film Festival announced a change in plans due to the Omicron surge.
